


The Buddy System

by TotidemVerbis



Series: HBO War One Shots And Drabbles [16]
Category: Generation Kill
Genre: Fluff, I snuck in a smidgen of feels, M/M, and there's a sprinkling of smut at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 22:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13936497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotidemVerbis/pseuds/TotidemVerbis
Summary: Okay, so maybe Q-tip isn't Ray's usual first pick for a finally-on-leave bar hop, but Ray can roll with it. It's just for one night anyway.





	The Buddy System

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a drabble and then it got kinda long. Also, I am now in love with this ship. I am officially living in rare-pair hell. I hope you enjoy the story and (slightly crackish) pairing!

“Yo, Ray!” Ray spins around in the parking lot, because they are now officially on leave which means he can get in his truck and leave base _finally_ , but he recognizes the voice calling his name. So he spins on his heel and grins as a tall lanky motherfucker lopes over towards him. Yeah, you heard him right. _Lopes_. It’s the only word to describe the way that Q-tip is hurrying towards him.

“The fuck you want, homes?! Didn’t you hear Daddy Fick?! We free!” Ray yells and throws his arms up in the air. He can hear a few _ooh-rah_ s as his fists pump the air, and he watches the way that Q-tip rolls his eyes before he finally comes to a stop in front of Ray. 

“You goin’ home for leave, man?” Q-tip is a little out of breath, probably because Ray was the first one to make a break for the parking lot, and Ray slowly starts to back up. Q-tip follows after him, almost absently, and Ray grins. 

“You mean am I going to Bumfuck, Missouri for my two weeks of leave? Hell no! I’m crashin’ on Brad’s couch. You goin’ home?” Ray’s truck, which he normally keeps at Brad’s house so that Brad’s mom can drive it to keep it running and he can have it when he’s stuck in California, is familiar against his back. Q-tip crosses his arms and shakes his head, and he reaches up to scratch at his cheek. 

“Don’t see no point goin’ all the way to Florida just to come right back,” he answers with a shrug. Yeah, that’s Ray’s way of thinking too. He’s already decided that he’s done, he’s not re-upping, so he’ll get to go home soon enough. For now, he’s gonna couch surf at Brad’s and probably spend the next two weeks heavily intoxicated. “You doin’ anythin’ tonight?”

“Brad told me to be scarce for tonight.” Ray makes an exaggerated show of wiggling his eyebrows, and it gets Q-tip to laugh a little. That’s about the time that Ray realizes what Q-tip is really asking him. “Hold up! Are you seriously going along with Fick’s buddy system rule?”

Before dismissing them, Fick told them to look out for each other while they were on leave. Those that weren’t scattering to go home, at least. Someone had made a joke about the buddy system, Ray made the joke but Fick laughed so it’s all good, but Ray didn’t think anyone would actually listen to that advice. Then again, Ray shouldn’t be surprised. They all listen to Fick, he’s a good leader, but Q-tip and Christeson really listen to him. They probably can’t help themselves after being stuck in a Humvee with Fick for all that time. His _goodness_ has rubbed off on both of them. 

“You right, I can go it alone.” Q-tip is already walking away across the parking lot as Ray’s mind runs wild, even without all the uppers his mind is constantly racing, and he calls out Q-tip’s name. Then watches as he slows to a stop and turns his head, but he doesn’t quite look over his shoulder. Shit. He probably thinks Ray was rejecting him or some shit like that, but Ray totally wasn’t! He likes Q-tip alright, they’ve never had any kind of problems, so he doesn’t mind hanging out with the guy for a night. Should be interesting. 

“I’ll go, but on one condition! If you can’t handle it, we’re both lone wolves tonight!” Ray’s voice kind of carries, even when he doesn’t mean for it to, and he hears someone howling. Possibly Manimal…No, wait, that’s Manimal and Chaffin, possibly Lilley too. All howling like a pack of idiots. (Ray thinks that fondly, really.)

“Whatchu want?” Q-tip asks. His chin is brushing his shoulder so that his eyes can meet Ray’s, and Ray kicks against the asphalt a little before answering. 

“I ain’t callin’ you Q-tip all night! We’re gonna get enough weird looks as it is!” Q-tip turns fully at that with a confused look on his face, but it’s true. Ray’s loud and what tiny bit of a filter that he does have disappears completely after a few drinks. They’re going to get some weird looks because Ray’s probably going to say some weird shit. It happens. 

“You can call me Evan!” Q-tip, _Evan_ , is smiling outright now. Sometimes Ray forgets that guys with nicknames usually have totally normal first names. Then again, Ray is his middle name so he can’t really talk. It’s whatever. He knows that Q-tip is staying on base, he remembers hearing Q-tip and Christeson talking before their big group meeting, and he pushes off the side of his truck. 

“I’ll pick you up later!” Ray calls out as he unlocks his truck. He can see Q-tip, _Evan_ , walking backwards with his hands stuffed in his pockets as he opens his driver door. He heaves himself inside, starts the truck, and then quickly rolls the window down because Q-tip’s still looking in his direction. So he hangs his head out the window and shouts, “And be prepared, homes! Shit’s gonna be crazy tonight!”

**.xXx.**

“Evan!” Ray stretches the vowels out so much that he turns the short name into a short song as he stumbles out into the fresh air, because Q-tip has become Evan over the past several hours of bar-hopping, and he sucks in a lungful of sweet clean air.

“Heard you comin’ a mile away, boy!” Evan shouts without looking over his shoulder. This particular bar, probably the last one of the night, has an actual porch wrapping all the way around it. A big wooden porch, and Evan’s sitting on a short bench with his feet braced against the bottom of the railing in front of him. There’s colorful lights everywhere, but most of the people are packed inside. Shit, Ray can’t even see anyone else outside as he stumbles forward a little more. 

“Lies! All of it! I can’t even hear myself fuckin’ think!” Ray yells. That makes Evan laugh and look over his shoulder, and he raises a brow at Ray. 

“You can’t hear yourself think?” Evan asks after a moment. Ray nods, because the inside of the bar had been so loud, and Evan laughs again as he starts to raise the beer bottle in his hand. “You the only one then.”

“Don’t be rude, Evan!” Ray sings as he stumbles across the porch and then collapses onto the little bench next to Evan. 

Now that Ray’s thinking about it, these benches are probably for couples. They’re small, so he’s practically in Evan’s lap. Eh, what the hell. Evan’s been awesome tonight, they’ve had a lot of laughs and mostly just gone with the flow, so Ray doesn’t even make an attempt at restraining himself. He throws one leg over Evan’s, so that his knee is hooked over Evan’s thigh and his leg is left dangling in the open space between Evan’s thighs, and he stretches his arms out along the back of the bench. That means that one arm is around Evan’s shoulders, but it feels good to stretch out so Ray isn’t moving. If the bartender lets him, he just might sleep out here. 

“What the hell you doin’ all up on me?” Evan’s laughing as he asks it, even though he’s trying for an angry tone, and Ray rolls his head to the side so that he can grin right at Evan’s stupid face. 

“I’m just poor boy, nobody loves me!” Ray sing-screams at the top of his lungs. It makes Evan laugh, because they both attempted _Bohemian Rhapsody_ at a karaoke bar a few bars back, and Ray suddenly realizes that Evan’s bringing his bottle down to rest it on Ray’s thigh. The one draped over Evan’s leg. It’s a logical move, except… “Holy fuck, homes! That hurts like a motherfucker! Move it! Move it!”

“What the-” Evan trails off as Ray claws at his pants leg, and he finds a hole right above the knee of his jeans. He gets it to rip open, he hears Evan muttering curses as the denim rips, and then they’re both just blinking down at the exposed part of Ray’s leg. Evan recovers first. “Why the hell are you bleeding?!”

“Huh. Must’ve been where that dude accidentally hit me with a dart. Couldn’t aim for shit,” Ray drawls and squints down at his leg. Blood’s streaked across his skin, from where what should have been a small hole was turned into a bigger one when the dart was ripped out, and his whole body moves as Evan starts pawing through his back pockets. 

“No more darts while drunk,” Evan says as he pulls a bandana out of his back pocket. Ray holds Evan’s beer, possibly sneaks a few sips, while Evan lifts Ray’s leg and carefully ties the bandana around it. Something’s changed. The skin around Evan’s eyes is drawn tight, not crinkled up in laughter like most of the night, and Ray finishes off the beer and sets the bottle on the ground before getting even more up into Evan’s space. 

“I won a hundred bucks off that guy, and this is barely a scratch. You alright?” Ray’s tone is light at the beginning, but the last two words are asked seriously. Maybe a little too seriously, especially since Ray still has an arm around Evan’s shoulders and is leaning in his space. Huh. Evan’s got some super blue eyes. 

“Yeah, man, I’m good,” Evan says and smiles. His lips follow through with the movements, but Ray ain’t buying it. Ray shifts his arm and claps his hand against the back of Evan’s neck, and he gives him a small shake before pulling him forward. He pushes their foreheads together, and they’re so close now that they’re sharing air. Ray’s sweating because they’re pressed so tightly together, but moving hasn’t crossed his mind even once. 

“I ain’t some asshole on the street. If you’re not alright, you tell me. The buddy system, remember?” Ray says quietly. There’s no one else on this small stretch of porch, but this is a serious conversation and serious conversations are always either really quiet or very loud. 

“I’m alright. Just…had a moment.” Ray feels Evan grabbing his other wrist and moving it, until Ray is grabbing warm denim and lean muscle. A thigh, not his, Evan’s. Where he got shot. Oh, shit. Ray’s still gripping the back of Evan’s neck, and he presses their foreheads together a little harder. Strengthens that point of contact. 

“Just a scratch, some dumb mistake. I’m okay,” Ray whispers. They’re practically sharing every breath now, and Ray can see all the subtle colors that make up Evan’s blue eyes. He should probably move. Or maybe Evan should move him, since Ray’s impulse control is pretty much gone at this point. 

“You’re okay,” Evan repeats. Ray nods to back up the claim, and his bottom lip brushes across Evan’s top lip. They both freeze as their eyes go comically wide, and they hold the shocked look for a few seconds before collapsing in laughter. 

All of the laughing causes them to shift around, but it takes Ray’s dulled senses a moment to realize what’s happened. He’s got both arms around Evan’s neck now, and he’s full-on straddling the dude. Evan’s clearly okay with it though, because he’s relaxed back against the bench and is holding onto Ray’s hips. Keeping him steady while also pulling him closer, and Ray lowers his weight down onto Evan’s lap. Evan’s eyes close as his head tips back at the pressure, and Ray gives an experimental roll of his hips. 

“Okay?” Ray asks as he feels Evan’s hands shake against his sides. 

“Almost,” Evan huffs. Ray’s head tilts to the side in confusion and then there’s a hand gripping the back of his neck to pull him down. Evan’s got one hand up the back of his shirt, fingers splayed out against the bare skin stretched over the middle of Ray’s spine, and the other hand is wrapped tight around the back of his neck to hold him in place. Like Ray’s going anywhere anytime soon?

Evan’s mouth is hot under his, lips slick and tongue soft as Ray rolls his hips again, and Evan tastes like beer and limes. It shouldn’t taste good, but Ray leans up to lick deeper into Evan’s mouth, chasing that taste, and he can feel fingertips bruising next to his spine. Everything is heat as Ray tilts his head for a better angle, and Evan’s moan tickles his lips when Ray tightens his fingers in the back of Evan’s short hair. Pulling back almost seems impossible, but Evan trails his spit-slick lips along Ray’s jaw while Ray sucks in some much needed air. 

“Yo! Quit gnawin’ on me for a second!” Teeth are scraping at the edge of Ray’s jaw, because Ray rolls his hips down harder every time Evan nips at the thin skin, and Ray’s torn between pulling Evan closer and pushing him away so he can say what he needs to say. Evan makes the decision for him and pulls back, and the blue color of his eyes is just a small ring around his expanded pupils. 

“You got somethin’ to say or you just wanna look at me?” Evan asks as Ray just looks down at him. Shit, and he thought Evan was lanky this whole time? There’s muscle on the thighs that Ray is sitting on, and he can see the light play of muscles flexing in Evan’s forearm as he shifts his grip on the back of Ray’s neck. Like he’s resisting the urge to pull Ray back down. 

“Are we gonna regret this later?” Ray already knows that he’s not, he figured out he was bisexual back in middle school, and Evan grins as he leans up and _fucking nips Ray’s chin_. 

“I ain’t. You gonna regret this later?” The words are whispered along Ray’s jaw, and Ray makes a quiet sound as Evan’s tongue flicks against his earlobe before he shifts to suck on the sensitive skin. Ray’s pulling at Evan’s hair now, where he can since his hair is so short, and he couldn’t stop his hips from moving if God Himself (or Herself) commanded him to. 

“Fuck no. Shit, _Evan_ , do that again.” There’s the sharp sting of teeth behind his ear before a light sucking pressure, and Ray’s full-out moaning now as one hand grips his hips and pulls him down even harder. 

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Evan’s whispering into his ear while guiding his hips, “as long as you don’t fucking stop.” 

Well, they’ve made it this far without any freak-outs or being caught, so Ray decides to go all-out. He lets go of Evan’s hair and reaches between them, and he gets his fingers on Evan’s jeans first. Once Evan realizes what he’s doing, he hurries to grab the front of Ray’s jeans. They race each other to see who can pop the button and tug down the zipper first, and Ray leans down for a biting kiss just as Evan’s hand closes around his cock. He feels rough calluses and gets his hand down Evan’s pants, and Evan pulls back as Ray drags his hand down the length of him slowly. 

“Come on, come on, come on,” Ray’s chanting as he rolls his hips into Evan’s fist. He’s moving his own hand at the same pace and grinning as Evan swears, and their eyes lock right as Ray swipes his palm over the head of Evan’s dick to get his hand a little more slick. Evan’s other hand comes up to grab the side of Ray’s neck, and Ray twists his wrist just to see the way Evan grits his teeth and pushes his hips up. 

“Hey, Ray.” Evan’s tone sounds casual, way too casual for what they’re currently doing, and Ray can feel the base of his spine tingling as Evan sucks his swollen bottom lip into his mouth. (It’s swollen and slick because of Ray. Ray did that to him.)

“What?” Ray asks distractedly as he keeps his hand moving. 

“Bet you’d look real good all marked up.” Ray’s hips stutter but he holds himself back, and he grins before tipping his head back and baring the side of his neck in offering. The hand already on the side of his neck tightens as Evan leans up and then bites down on the side of Ray’s neck, and Ray’s grip tightens as he swears and fucks into Evan’s fist. “Knew you’d be into some kinky shit.”

“Right back atcha, motherfucker,” Ray grunts and leans down. He bites at the curve of Evan’s shoulder through the thin cotton of his tee shirt while twisting his wrist, and Evan’s hips pump a few times before he tenses completely. Ray doesn’t release Evan’s shoulder until Evan stops cumming into his hand, and he pulls back with a smug smile even though he’s so hard that it’s starting to hurt. Because that? That was awesome. “Well? Do I gotta do all the hard work? Extra emphasis on _hard_.”

“Shut up, Ray.” Evan uses the grip still on his neck to pull him down again and licking into his panting mouth, and the other side of Ray’s neck throbs where there’s sure to be a bruise as Evan speeds his hand up. All it takes is a few quick and rough pulls before Ray is moaning into Evan’s mouth and spilling into his hand, and he slumps against Evan’s chest as they both laugh breathlessly. They wipe their hands off on the inside of their jeans and then slump in exhaustion. 

“Evan?” Ray’s arms are around Evan’s neck again, but he’s ducked down so that his cheek is pressed against Evan’s chest. He can hear the strong sound of his heart pumping, can feel the heat coming off of his skin through his tee shirt, and Evan is idly tracing the sore place on Ray’s neck. He’s gonna have one helluva hickey, that’s for sure. 

“Hmm?” Evan hums. His head is resting against the top of Ray’s, and it’s comfortable but they’ll need to move soon. Ray’s still straddling Evan on a wooden beach. His knees are going to start protesting soon. 

“Can we do this again when we’re sober?” Ray asks quietly. Because this was fun and this is the best he’s felt since before Iraq. 

“Hell yeah we can. I say we pick up some food, find a motel, and ride this leave out!” Ray wiggles around until his lips are pressed against the side of Evan’s neck, and he can feel the strong pulse against his lips. 

“Sounds like a plan, homes. Carry me?” Evan grabs the back of his shirt and pulls him upright, and Ray is smiling as Evan slowly looks him over. From his slightly messy hair, over his rumpled tee shirt, and down to his hastily buttoned jeans. 

“Hold hands?” Ray’s head tilts as he thinks that over, and it seems like a fair compromise. Especially since Ray is picking up a fondness for Evan’s hands. 

“Deal. Let’s get the fuck up outta here!” Ray declares. Evan’s already laughing and smiling up at him, and Ray feels all light and warm inside. 

“I’m followin’ you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
